Ep 28: Secret Strategy to Get New Members Showing Up & Taking Action with Susan Bradley

Aug 30

Secret Strategy to Get New Members with Susan Bradley

Are you struggling to get your community members engaged and active in your program? Do you find it challenging to get people to show up for your live calls? Well, in this episode of our podcast, Susan Bradley is going to reveal a powerful strategy that will help you address these issues. Susan is the founder of Social Sales Girls, a company that teaches Ecommerce store owners how to grow their businesses and achieve financial independence.

Susan breaks down step by step how to run successful new member calls that lead to fast action and over 90% show-up rates. You will learn how to get your members engaged and activated from the start and set the foundation for a thriving community. Susan's unique twists to the traditional member Welcome Calls will inspire you to take action and try something new with your own community.

Susan's extensive experience as an E-commerce store owner and entrepreneur gives her a unique perspective on building successful businesses and communities. Her passion for helping entrepreneurs achieve financial freedom is evident in everything she does, and we are thrilled to have her on the show to share her knowledge and insights with you. To follow along, access the New Member Call Guide by going to shanalynn.com/susan.

Favorite Community

Tell me a little bit about your favorite community that you have ever been a part of. What did you love the most about it?

It's my community at the Social Sales Girls that has filled me up the most since we built it, and it's in two parts. It's certainly our clients, and I love watching their progress. There are just so many smart people out there that you would never be able to meet or see some of the amazing things they do unless you were in a community like that. I love how they connect with each other and support each other, and it just makes me realize why I do this. But also, our community of coaches and mentors, they are some amazing, giving people. And oftentimes seeing them feel successful, lifting them up, and sharing them with our community makes me feel like a boss.

Social Sales Girls

So tell us a little bit about who you serve in social sales girls and just a little bit about that program.

We help online store owners, specifically product-based business owners, learn how to grow their businesses beyond the initial stage of having a website and a product. Many of our clients have already sold on platforms such as Etsy, Amazon, or eBay, and have proven the concept of their product. However, they often struggle to sell on their own website and become stuck. This is where we come in, helping them to get more visibility, attract more potential customers, and ultimately convert those visitors into customers. Our ultimate goal is to help these business owners maximize their lifetime value. Additionally, we emphasize the importance of paying themselves as a key part of running a successful business, rather than just reinvesting profits into the business.

30 Day Action Plan Calls

So tell us a little bit about these new member calls and how you have it set up now and why you decided to set it up that way.

I used to do the same thing that everyone does. You bring in some new members, and then you have a welcome call, and you show up on Zoom, and you're the talking head, and they all sit there and watch you as you share your screen. Then you go through your training and then show them where the resources are, and then they might ask a few questions, and you say goodbye and cut them loose. We used to do that too. And then I decided we have great retention, but it's really important to me to make sure that people make progress. And so we decided sometime last year to figure out where it was in the life cycle that people are most likely, new members, in particular, are most likely to leave us.

What we found out was it was month two. I think our retention rate in month two was like 80%, whereas our overall retention rate is 95% and over. And so I thought, okay, so this is where we have to focus. We have to focus on that new member call and we have to get them to buy in. We really have to get them to buy into the experience.

So now we invite everyone who has joined the Inner Circle in the last six months to come to what we call a 30-day Action Plan call. They're not going to hide in the bathroom like you did in high school when there was an orientation. It’s every two weeks our member success lead coach runs the call with another coach. We invite them to that call, and the promise of that call is that they are going to leave the call knowing exactly what they have to do for their business to make progress in the next 30 days.

On the call, it's quite hands-on. We have them set a goal for themselves and then set the future vision. We ask them what they want to have accomplished in 30 Days and then we actually show them what the work is that they need to do and manage their expectations. . Perhaps it's not achievable within 30 days, it might require 90 days. However, we can break it down and determine what's feasible for them to accomplish in the next 30 days. We'll provide guidance on the necessary training and help them create a list of actionable steps for the next 30 daysThey can come to those calls for the first six months.

So how long is the call?

The call lasts for around 90 minutes.

And then is it a group call or a one-on-one?

It’s a group call. We have two coaches on the call. One coach leads the discussion in the chat initially, but later we divide the participants into two smaller groups, each led by a coach. The maximum number of participants we allow on a call is 40.

Initially, we provide a brief orientation for new participants, explaining what they can expect. Then, we shift the focus to the participants and divide them into smaller groups, each led by a coach. In these breakout rooms, everyone has a couple of minutes to introduce themselves - their business name, how long they've been in business, and their current stage. We also have a quiz that helps to determine their business stage. The aim is for everyone in the small groups to get to know each other better.

After the introductions, we keep the participants engaged by sending them on a journey to check their specific business metric. For example, we might ask them to check their website traffic over the last month and report back in the comments. Based on their metric, we provide tailored advice. Those with lower traffic will receive guidance on what to do next, while those with higher traffic will receive recommendations on their next steps.

The action plan, is that a pre-done 30 day roadmap that you all have created?

No! The reason why we don’t have a one-size-fits-all approach is that our participants are at different stages of their success path, Therefore, we provide an action plan tailored to the specific stage. If a participant has attended multiple calls, we can also discuss their previous goals and progress. This approach helps participants understand that their questions can be answered within the membership, and they can seek help if needed.

When they're able to attend that call whenever they want, how many times they want or what does that look like?

The invitation is extended to them every two weeks for the first six months that they're a member. Another benefit is that participants get to meet our coaches and establish a connection with them. If they want more personalized guidance, they can book a one-on-one session with the coach they connected with during the call.

Currently, we are tracking cohort retention for a period of six months to evaluate our performance. As someone who values data, I find it helpful to have quantitative information to support my instincts.

I'm sure you're getting some great feedback already from the calls that you can see inside of your community and things like that.

We are, and the main issue we face is that members who have been with us for over six months are confused about how to access the calls. To address the issue, we need to examine our monthly deliverables and ensure that all members can benefit from them.

How to Increase the Show Up Rate

Tell us what you're doing right now to help increase the show up rate.

Wow, it wasn't necessary for me to determine the origin of that. Running these calls is expensive since it utilizes a resource. Initially, I was disappointed with the attendance rate. However, one day I had to assist on a call and was amazed by the number of participants constantly joining and leaving the call. They might be in their car, then at home, and then they hop on the call. It made me realize that it's challenging for them to fully engage and commit if they are constantly on the move.

I began thinking, how can we make this more important to people and show the value? What we did instead of just saying, "Hey, here's this call you can attend," is say, "Hey, every new member is entitled to this support when they first join for the first six months. The value of these calls is $45," which is a similar price to the monthly cost of your membership, just for some context. But since you're a new member, here's a coupon code to enter and get the call at no charge.

So, after implementing this approach, our show-up rate increased from 31% of the invited people to 95%. We're still learning and trying to figure out how to keep it fresh for six months, but we only started doing this two months ago, so it's still early. Nonetheless, we're excited about the results so far!

Are you guys offering these out a variety of different times of day throughout to accommodate it?

Yes! Since we have a considerable number of members from Australia and we operate in North American time zones, we schedule one call per month at a time that is more suitable for our Australian members and when they would not be as tired.

Do you offer replays?

No, because it is an active participation call.

Advice from Susan

What is one piece of advice that you would give to somebody that wants to sort of move to this model?

I think the key is to just do it. We’re often so afraid that if we change something, someone will notice and call us out on it. But the reality is, no one is really paying that much attention to us, We’re not that important that people are constantly watching what we’re doing. So my advice is to just do it. We did it and it worked out fine.

You want to reach out to new members while they're still engaged and interested, ideally right after they've signed up for the membership. This is when their attention is most focused on what you have to offer, and they're more likely to read your email and take action. So, offering them a free coaching call at this point is a smart move because it's more likely to catch their attention and persuade them to sign up.

So, do you send that email right after they join? When do you know when that is?

It's a crucial part of their onboarding. Attention is one of the biggest challenges we face.

How to Run Action Plan Calls in your Business

If you're eager to put Susan's advice into practice and want to make sure you have all the details in one place, be sure to check out my FREE New Member Call guide. It breaks down all of the tactics and strategies discussed in this episode and includes pro tips and favorite tools. Don't miss out on this opportunity to take your community engagement to the next level. Access the FREE guide by going to shanalynn.com/susan.